By Ashley Fletcher Frampton
aframpton@scbiznews.com
Published Dec. 15, 2009

The 787 Dreamliner took flight this afternoon after more than two years of delays for the next-generation airliner, which is partially produced in North Charleston.

Employees of Boeing Charleston gathered to watch footage of the test flight on a large screen on the company’s production facility on International Boulevard in North Charleston and at the adjacent Global Aeronautica plant. The actual flight took place in Everett, Wash., where the Dreamliner was assembled.

Local Boeing workers cheered, clapped and whistled as the airplane lifted off the runway into the sky.

Two smaller chase planes followed the 787 after a smooth liftoff from the damp runway near Seattle. The Dreamliner was scheduled to fly north and go out west over the ocean, and then the two pilots were to choose where they would fly the jet next.

The test flight is expected to last for a few hours. Local Boeing officials planned to gather workers again to watch the landing.

After the takeoff, Matt Borland, chief operating officer for Boeing Charleston, thanked employees for their part in making the flight happen.

“This is your airplane, so let’s be proud,” he said.

The flight was a significant step in the continuing development of the Dreamliner, which is being produced in sections from different locations around the world and shipped for final assembly in Everett, Wash., near Seattle.

Boeing’s Charleston facility produces fuselage sections for the Dreamliner.

The company announced in October that it would build a second final assembly line at its current campus near Charleston International Airport. The first model of the airplane, which flew today, will be produced in North Charleston once the second assembly line is fully operational.

On Saturday, Boeing completed high-speed taxi tests at its airfield near Seattle. Mike Delaney, vice president and chief project engineer for the 787, said of those tests, “Our pilots told me the airplane performed beautifully.”

During the testing, the airplane reached a top speed of approximately 130 knots, and the pilots lifted the nose gear from the pavement.

Boeing plans to start production in North Charleston in mid-2011 and to roll the first Dreamliner off the assembly line in Charleston by 2012. To support production, the company will hire about 1,000 mechanics and flight line workers, the company said, in addition to support staff.